Plant-based meat market is projected to be worth US$12.75 billion by 2030, with strong demand in the West it is now gaining momentum in Asia. According to DuPont N&B, demand for plant-based products in Asia will surge over 200% in the next 5 years.
Launched in October 2020, a Singapore food tech startup Next Gen has been making waves in the plant-based business environment. After announcing a Seed round of US$10 million from big names like Temasek, K3 Ventures, the New Ventures arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), NX Food – part of METRO AG, FEBE Ventures, and Blue Horizon, the company launched Tindle, an alternative to chicken.
The company saw huge success with Tindle attracting rave reviews from restaurants and chefs in Singapore for its quality and tastes. Given the encouragement, the brand is now expanding to Hong Kong, Macau and even Kuala Lumpur which will arrive in these markets by 24 June. Demand for meat alternatives has been increasing globally with mega brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods in US have become billion dollar companies in just a couple of years. Over in Asia the trend has yet to pick up on a big scale but early movers like Next Gen is looking to be ride the wave when it arrives.
The three cities chosen for their own distinct characteristics: Hong Kong is one of the great food and cultural hubs of Asia. Macau is a hugely popular tourist destination, especially for Mainland China, with some 40 million tourists in 2019. Kuala Lumpur has long been known for its excellent multicultural food culture.
“We are building a global foodtech business with strategies and models adopted from the technology sector. Our international expansion is driven by our asset-lite model, partner expertise, and funding resources, which collectively drive our operational scalability. These three cities mark the second phase of our plan, following our Singapore launch. Our third phase will see us laying the groundwork for further international markets expansion,” said Andre Menezes, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Next Gen.
Classic Fine Foods, already a distributor for Singapore, has been appointed to distribute TiNDLE in the three cities, the regional food specialist will be setting up vital network point in Kuala Lumpur as well, the company is keen to expand its portfolio towards plant-based proteins in gastronomy. Through their connection with the food service industry, Classic Fine Foods’ in-house chefs are working closely with restaurateurs to help create new menu with the plant-based chicken.
The brand in partnership with Classic Fine Foods made its global debut in Singapore with eleven partner restaurants and has since then expanded to over 40 locations, including some of the most iconic F&B venues. Malaysians will be able to try some of the dishes planned for Tindle once the MCO is lifted and when KL restaurants add the product to their menus.
